Can I Climb Haba Snow Mountain in Winter?

Haba Snow Mountain is regarded as an ideal trekking paradise for beginners who are intended to climb a real snow mountain at an altitude of more than 5,000m. Located 120 km southeast of Shangri-La City with its main peak of 5,396 meters, Haba Snow Mountain is a mountain rising above the northwest side of Tiger Leaping Gorge in Yunnan, China. It rises opposite the higher Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, and towers 3,500 meters above the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, also known as the Jinsha River. The summit of the mountain is a popular destination for amateur mountaineers and its lowest slopes are crossed by the popular Tiger Leaping Gorge trail.

Facts of Haba Snow Mountain

• Elevation (meters):5,396
• Continent: Asia
• Country: China
• Latitude: 27.3394
• Longitude:100.191
• Difficulty:Basic Snow/Ice Climb
• Nearest major airport: Lijiang (Yunnan China)
• Tour starts/finishes: Lijiang or Shangri-La
• Fitness required: Excellent
• Recommended Visit Time: 2-4 days

Best Time to Climb Haba Snow Mountain

Above 4,000 meters in Haba Snow Mountain are precipitous snow peaks and rugged glaciers. Below 4,000 meters, the terrain slopes gently where subtropical zone, temperate zone, cold temperate zone and frigid zone are distributed. The temperature difference can reach 22.8℃ between the foot and top of Haba Snow Mountain.

Best time to climb Haba Snow Mountain is between mid of March till end of June and mid of September till mid of December. Affected by the monsoons, fresh gales blow in January and February. From April to June, the blossoming rhododendra add more glamour to mysterious Haba Snow Mountain. In the late autumn, the forest is full of color, the air is pure, and the starry sky can be photographed. From November to December, the light wind makes tourists more easily to climb up to the summit.

So if you want to climb Haba Snow Mountain in winter, you can do it in November and early December, or in late February and March.

Travel Tips for Climbing Haba Snow Mountain in Winter

Safety Concern

In a fine summer day, ordinary tourists may reach the summit successfully if they follow the suggestions from the professional climbers. However there are some accidents happened, some of famous travelers died here, so everything needs to be paid full attention and taken care of. If you plan to climb Haba Snow Mountain without any previous experience, hire a mountain guide and try to avoid climbing the mountain alone. Be ready that your plans ascending mountain top can be canceled. If you have time, stay more days at the base camp, and climb when the weather is good.

Necessary Equipment

High-top waterproof hiking shoes, head lamps, talpenstocks, gaiters, snow goggles, wind-proof caps, gloves, winter jackets, technical pants, raincoats, vacuum cups, backpacks with rain covers, close-fitting quick-drying clothes, more than three pairs of socks, personal medicines, mobile power supply, sunscreens, lipsticks and other personal items!

Note: It should be emphasized that the gloves should be double-layered, the socks must be thick, the hiking shoes should be bigger, the backpacks should be around 20 liters.

Recommended Visiting Route

Recommend you to start with a warm-up trekking from Tiger Leaping Gorge to Haba Village first instead of arriving Haba Town by bus. Then you can start your Haba Snow Mountain Climbing Tour from Haba Village. From Haba Village to the Base Camp, it takes an average walk of 5-6 hours. The Base Camp is at the altitude of 4,100 meters. From here, hike up to 4,900 meters in 3 hours, and another 2 hours to the top. If there is no snow up to the 4,900m point, you can easily get there in 2 hours, and another 1.5 hours to the top (5,406 meters). Here we have a recommended itinerary.

► Day 1: Lijiang – Tiger Leaping Gorge – Haba village
► Day 2: Haba Village – The Base Camp of Haba Snow Mountain
► Day 3: The Base Camp of Haba Snow Mountain – The Summit – The Base Camp of Haba Snow Mountain
► Day 4: The Base Camp of Haba Snow Mountain – Haba Village – Lijiang

Yunnan Exploration Travel has rich experiences in working out Haba Snow Mountain Climbing Tour and provides professional English-speaking guide that make your individual climbing tour more convenient and safer. If you are interested in, please contact our consultant for more details. Below we list some of our Haba Snow Mountain Tours for your reference.

4 Days Haba Snow Mountain Climbing Adventure with Tiger Leaping Gorge Tour
5 Days Haba Snow Mountain Circumambulation Hiking Tour with Tiger Leaping Gorge Adventure (Finishing in North Slope)
5 Days Haba Snow Mountain Climbing Adventure (Camping at 4800M) with Tiger Leaping Gorge Tour
6 Days Haba Snow Mountain Summit Climbing Tour with Haba Circumambulation and Tiger Leaping Gorge Trekking
7 Days Haba Snow Mountain Climbing Tour and Tiger Leaping Gorge Trekking Tour
9 Days Lijiang and Shangrila Adventure Tour with Tiger Leaping Gorge Trekking and Haba Snow Mountain(5396M) Climbing

Read more about Haba Snow Mountain Tours.

For more information about Haba Snow Mountain, please click Haba Snow Mountain Travel Guide.